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Saturday, December 31, 2011

With 2012 in the horizon

It seemed not so long ago when we were being warned that we were going to lose all of our money and investments, our clocks would go haywire, and traffic was going to be a mad melee because the millennium was only hours away. We held our collective breathe, with Prince's "1999" as the soundtrack, in the last moments the song would be relevant, waiting for the world-wide confusion that would happen when the clock struck 12:00 a.m. on January 1, 2000.

Somehow, the world survived. And here we are, 11 years later, going into another new year. Many will make new year's resolutions and plans. The stuff they are going to do or not going to do. The goals they are striving for. The who they will be by this time next year. I don't make alot of "resolutions". Not because I think I've got it all together, but, for me, its too much pressure. But there are some things I'd like to do, in no particular order (and feel free to share your own):

- finish reading the Bible - its not as if this is terribly hard, I can read afterall, its just a matter of making it a priority

- finish some of my un-finished projects - I'm kinda bad at finishing craft-y type projects, like my scrapbook from my trip to Seoul 2 years ago, the dollhouse in my basement, the countless sweaters/scarves/shawls/gloves piled up in my yarn basket. If I could just finish some of them, that would be good

- use more cash than credit - okay, so this one is really more of a strong suggestion from my loving spouse, but it's still a good idea

- participate in another triathlon/duathlon and/or a couple 5Ks - notice, I said "participate", not "compete" inferring, I just would like to finish with a decent time, no dreams of winning, that would require too much work and a lot less chocolate

- do more stuff with my kids - it has occurred to me that now that they are all in school, most of our time together is spent grabbing dinner as we rush to the car, driving to this practice or that game, or fussing over homework. I don't know when we would squeeze in anything else, but you can always make time for what's important to you and they are my most important anything. I'm inspired that my son still wants to read with me.

- commit to "just us" time with my husband - I know a few friends who have regular in-house date nights, after the kids are put to bed, they pour a glass of wine, maybe even dinner or dessert, and spend some time together, just husband and wife. I like that. Some time, because he works from home often, we make space for lunch, either out or at home. It's important to be able to have a conversation and share a laugh without censoring or being interrupted.

- read some good books - between my e-books virtual shelves and the physical piles around my house, I have plenty, but I'm always open to suggestions (especially books about daughters, animals, or circuses - and anything that combines two or more of those things definitely goes on the list)

- a whole bunch more stuff I'll think of as the year goes on.

But my most important goal for every day of the new year, has been the same for years -

"Begin and end each day with one husband and 4 kids - no more, no less".

May God bless you and may you recognize His blessings in the new year!Happy 2012